Drainage Records and Conservation Status Evaluations 

 for Thirteen Kentucky Fishes 



Melvin L. Warren, Jr. ' and Ronald R. Cicerello 



Kentucky Nature Preserves Commission, 



Frankfort, Kentucky 40601 



ABSTRACT.— Recent ichthyofaunal surveys in Kentucky have 

 resulted in drainage records, refinement of distributional patterns, and 

 evaluation of conservation status for 13 fish species. The following 

 species are recorded for the first time from the Kentucky drainages 

 indicated in parentheses: Lampetra appendix (Cumberland River), 

 Umbra limi (West Fork Clarks River), Hybognathus hayi (Tennessee 

 River), Hybopsis insignis (Red River), Notropis ariommus (Kinnicon- 

 ick Creek), Notropis telescopus (Green River), Lepomis marginatus 

 (Tennessee River), Etheostoma camurum (Licking River), Percina 

 phoxocephala (Red River), and Percina shumardi (Little Sandy River). 

 In addition, the continued existence of Percina macrocephala in the 

 Barren River system and Kinniconick Creek, and of Fundulus chryso- 

 tus in extreme southwestern Kentucky, are confirmed. Evaluation of 

 recently acquired distributional data necessitates recommended changes 

 in the conservation status (established by the Kentucky Academy of 

 Science) of four species: (1) Lepisosteus oculatus should be removed 

 from the threatened category and reassigned to special concern status; 



(2) Hybopsis insignis and Fundulus chrysotus should be elevated from 

 special concern to threatened and endangered status, respectively; and 



(3) Percina phoxocephala does not warrant conservation status recog- 

 nition. 



INTRODUCTION 



The freshwater ichthyofauna of Kentucky is one of the most speci- 

 ose in North America, ranking third behind Tennessee and Alabama 

 (Burr 1980). Nevertheless, attempts to thoroughly document the distri- 

 bution and conservation status of this fauna have only recently been 

 reaHzed through publication of Clay*s (1975) book on Kentucky fishes, 

 an updated distributional checkHst (Burr 1980), and a Hst of endangered 

 and threatened Kentucky fishes endorsed by the Kentucky Academy of 

 Science (Branson et al. 1981b). These efforts stimulated renewed interest 

 in the Kentucky fish fauna, with emphasis on taxonomic status, refine- 

 ment of distributions, and re-evaluation of conservation status as exem- 

 plified by Starnes and Starnes (1978, 1979), Bauer and Branson (1979), 

 Burr and Mayden (1979), Burr et al. (1980), Starnes (1981), Warren 

 (1981), Page and Burr (1982), Warren and Cicerello (1982), and others. 



' Present address: Department of Zoology, Southern Illinois University at Car- 

 bondale, Carbondale, Illinois 62901. 



Brimleyana No.9:97-109. June 1983. 97 



